Columbus, OH — Four divisions of the $85,000 Ohio Sires Stakes Veterans Championships were held at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Friday (August 30).
The aged trot, a pre-card non-wagering event with five entries, was won by The Mighty Hill in gate-to-wire fashion in 1:52.4. Driven by co-owner Trevor Smith, The Mighty Hill led through fractions of :29, :56 and 1:24.2 and held off Caviar Gold (Aaron Merriman) who was second and Gabbys Bit Coin (Austin Hanners) who finished third.
The Mighty Hill is a 5-year-old gelding by What The Hill out of the Tagliabue mare Maxine The Mighty. Friday’s win was his 15th lifetime in 51 starts. Owned by Bet The House and Trevor Smith, the Jeff Smith trainee now has $496,445 in lifetime earnings.
The aged mare division went to My Red Sea (Eric Goodell) who also led gate-to-wire to win in 1:50. The 4-year-old mare set fractions of :26.2, :55 and 1:22.3 to set a new lifetime mark over High Flyin’ Filly (Chris Page) and Penpaperpaige (Tyler Smith).
Jason Irwin trains the Downbytheseaside mare out of the Jereme’s Jet mare My Hare Lady for Jennifer Bongiorno Stable and Robert Weinstein. My Red Sea now has 14 wins in 51 lifetime starts and $290,411 in earnings.
Refined took the aged mare trot in 1:51.4 with Dan Noble up. Getting the pocket trip behind Martysmagicmoment (Brett Miller) through opening fractions of :27.1 and :55.3, Noble pulled Refined mid-way down the backside and made the lead by the 1:23.3 third quarter. Forceful Power (Hugh Beatty) was at her wheel coming down the stretch but Refined was a length and a half better at the finish; Rose Run Yolanda (Hanners) got up for third.
Refined is by Uncle Peter out of the Malabar Man mare Reinvent. Owned by Joyce McClelland and Larry Wills, the 8-year-old mare is trained by Virgil Morgan, Jr. Refined now has six wins on the year in 16 starts and $1.16-million earned lifetime.
The aged pace had a lot of movement going towards the :26.3 opening quarter with Donttouchmytruck (Chris Presley) getting off the car first, Act Fast (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.) taking the lead mid-way around the first turn and Seafire (Page) not content to sit fourth, pulling and marching to the front as the field straightened out on the stretch for the first time. By the :54.2 half the field had settled single file, but Burnout (Hanners) pulled first up towing Charlie May (Noble) right behind him. Flipping three-wide at the 1:22.3 third quarter, Charlie May had the momentum and sprinted down the stretch to win by a half length over Seafire in 1:49.2; Don’ttouchmytruck powered up for third.
Charlie May, a Don Tiger homebred trained by Steve Carter, is by McArdle out of the Western Hanover mare Stipple Hanover. Friday’s victory was the first win of the year for the 6-year-old gelding who had made $102,286 in 10 seasonal starts in 2024. Lifetime, Charlie May has now earned $2,196,921 in 74 lifetime starts.
Friday’s card also had three divisions of the Buckeye Stallion Series for 3-year-old colt pacers. Trainer Christi Noble took two of the divisions with both colts winning in 1:51.2
JD’s Zack Attack (Ty. Smith) won the first division by a nose over Seaside Delight (Kayne Kauffman); Twenty Five (Page) was third. The colt by Yankee Cruiser is owned by Eleven Star Stables, Caleb Miller, Frank Baldachino and Henry Graber, Jr. JD’s Zack Attack now has five wins in 15 seasonal starts and $42,490 in lifetime earnings.
Nine One Oh Six (Noble) took the second division by a half-length over Theheavyweightway (Tr. Smith) and Heerz Popeye (Cameron McCown). Owned by Tim Homan, Norman Rae Racing and Jim Burnett, the Lather Up colt now has seven wins in 15 seasonal starts and $69,286 in lifetime earnings.
The last division, which was also the fastest, was won by Seasideescape (Miller) in 1:50.3. Cheyenne Tuff (Page) was second with Legendary Noble (Noble) finishing third. Trained by Steve Carter, Seasideescape is owned by Country Club Acres, Joe Sbrocco & JAF Racing< Don Latore and AWS Stables. The Downbytheseaside gelding now has three wins in 14 seasonal starts and $99,305 in lifetime earnings.
There will be a special Labor Day card on Monday, September 2, with the next live racing day not until Thursday, September 5. The Saturday (September 7) card features the $250,000 Jim Ewart Memorial Pace and the Charlie Hill Memorial Trot.
Post time for all remaining cards, except for Friday, September 13, is 5:45 p.m. First post for the Friday (Sept. 13) card will be 6:45 p.m., to help accommodate horsemen attending the Ohio Selected Yearling Sale.
More information about racing at Scioto can be found on the Eldorado Scioto Downs website.